CLITHEROE Football Club was today counting the cost of a fire which ripped through one of the stands at Shawbridge.

The blaze, believed to have been started by children who had been building a den underneath the wooden structure, came on the day the club celebrated a £24,440 grant to improve drainage at the ground.

Dave Burgess, the club's acting chairman, said: "At about 7.30pm last night, part of the wooden stand was set on fire, by some kids it seems. The fire brigade says it looks like they were building a den underneath the stand and then set it on fire.

"It is the wooden stand on the left of the pitch after the pie shop, but before the cage where the changing rooms are.

"We don't know the extent of the damage as yet but it is probably half the stand. They demolished a third of it but it looks like that will be extended to half.

"Thankfully it is not the new stand, but the cost could be £2,500 to £3,000. I don't know how we are going to pay for it."

The North West Counties League club has received a grant of £24,440 from The Football Stadia Improvement Fund, a supporter of the Football Foundation. The money was earmarked for a new pitch drainage system at the ground, which has suffered from poor drainage for a number of seasons, including three months when the pitch was unplayable.

Terry Nelson, Clitheroe treasurer, added: "We are delighted with the money. There have been inherent problems with the pitch, which we can hopefully now put behind us. All at the club thank the FSIF for their generous contribution.

Mr Burgess added: "We got a grant yesterday for £24,000 but that is for the pitch and we have to find £6,000 for that ourselves as well. But that money has already been spoken for.

"We need to find something for this. It will leave open ground behind it so we will have to patch it up.

"Last month someone tried to break in and damaged a couple of doors on the clubhouse, so it is not a one-off. Things like this are happening all the time.

"How do you stop them apart from putting barbed wire up? We don't want to do that. This club is not a private thing, it is the town's amenities and for kids to come in and do this is out of order really."

Police are investigating the cause of the fire.